Yuelian felt a knot in her stomach whenever she thought about Xiao Yan's return. She gave her son a light smack on the head. "Dream on! Xiao Yan would never want a fool like you. Be good and listen to your mom—I'll find you a wife."

But Hanniù, stubborn in his simple-mindedness, insisted: "No! Want the pretty lady! Want sleep with pretty lady!"

The village party secretary shot his son a look of disdain. Of his two children, his daughter had married early and moved away, leaving only this simpleton whose mind had never grown past that of a five-year-old.

Some clueless villager had put the idea into his head—that having a wife meant sharing a bed and having fun. Now the boy was obsessed, chanting every day about wanting a wife to sleep with.

And lately, he'd been fixated on marrying Xiao Yan. It was like a toad lusting after a swan....Simultaneously, Lin Xiaoxiao and Zhou Xiaoling thought that Xiao Yan got what she deserved when they learned she'd been sent back to the countryside.

Zhou Xiaoling snorted. "Serves her right. She brought all this on herself. Need I remind you—she had a big hand in Wang Wenju's divorce. If she hadn't stirred the pot, would Zhang Yimei have had the brains to cause so much trouble?"

Lin Xiaoxiao, however, was wondering whether Xiao Yan could still compete for a college entrance quota from the countryside. The last thing she wanted was to see her at the examination hall.

"How can we make sure Xiao Yan doesn't qualify for the exam?" she mused.

Zhou Xiaoling wasn't worried. "She doesn't stand a chance. Having been away from the village for three or four years, she's lost all her connections. On top of that, most of the other educated youth are from big cities and are single-mindedly studying for the exams to return home. She's no match for that."

Lin Xiaoxiao wasn't so sure. "What if she uses underhanded methods?"

After all, Xiao Yan was cunning and deeply manipulative.

She had a knack for winning men over. Any man who could be of use to her would inevitably become a target.

Zhou Xiaoling scratched her head. "Well, there's not much we can do about that. Let's not worry for now—the policy hasn't even been announced yet. If she does qualify, I'll report her. Don't worry, she won't be taking any exam."

The thought of not having to see Xiao Yan every day lifted Lin Xiaoxiao's mood. She decided she and Zhou Xiaoling should celebrate. "Let's have lunch in town today. We can also buy some fabric—I want to learn how to make a blanket for the baby."

Zhou Xiaoling was all for it. "Sure! But... have you finished knitting that sweater for my brother?"

Lin Xiaoxiao looked embarrassed. "Not yet. I got stuck halfway—I don't know how to shape the armholes or neckline. I asked one of the ladies at the compound, but I still didn't get it. I'll leave it for now. Since your brother's not here anyway, I'll focus on learning to make a blanket instead."

Zhou Xiaoling hesitated. "Sis... have you ever sewn a blanket before? Do you know how to make a quilt?"

Lin Xiaoxiao answered with confident ignorance: "Nope! But I'm going to learn."

Zhou Xiaoling could almost hear crows cawing overhead. She looked at Lin Xiaoxiao's cheerful determination and kindly warned, "It's not as easy as it looks. Maybe ask around before you start."

But Lin Xiaoxiao wasn't concerned. How hard could it be? Two square pieces of fabric with cotton in between—definitely easier than knitting.

"Do you know how?"

Zhou Xiaoling shook her head. "No way. I was always too busy as a kid to learn stuff like that. But I've seen my mom make quilts—it looked pretty complicated."

That made Lin Xiaoxiao even more confident. If Zhou Xiaoling thought it was hard, it must actually be easy. Surely sewing a quilt couldn't be harder than suturing a wound in surgery. If she could do that, she could do this.

They went to town for beef noodles, then bought fabric and cotton.

Zhou Xiaoling, worried Lin Xiaoxiao might not have enough ration tickets, shoved all of hers at her. "Take them. You'll need more later. We get uniforms at my unit—I don't need fabric tickets."

Lin Xiaoxiao wasn't sure how much she needed, but figured more was better. The baby would need several sets of clothes.

There were no diapers back then—only cloth nappies. That meant outfits would have to be changed multiple times a day.

And they'd need soft cotton for nappies too.

The thought of raising a little being one diaper change at a time was a little daunting. "Life would be so much easier without babies."

Zhou Xiaoling scolded her lightly: "Don't say that! My nephew can hear you. He'll give you trouble when he comes out."

Lin Xiaoxiao laughed and quickly corrected herself: "My baby will be the most beautiful, well-behaved baby in the world."

Two clueless mothers-to-be ended up buying ten jin of cotton, ten meters of plain cloth, and a few meters of light yellow floral fabric that would work for either a boy or a girl.

Zhou Xiaoling refused to let Lin Xiaoxiao carry anything. Arms full, she still reminded her: "Go get some peanut cookies from that store—they're really good. Get some for when you're hungry. Also some biscuits and sponge cake."

She waited outside with the bags while Lin Xiaoxiao went into the store.

Inside, Lin Xiaoxiao was surprised to see Li Yu there with Shanzi, buying biscuits. Li Yu had cut her hair short—almost like a man's—with bangs covering her eyebrows, making it hard to see her face clearly.

Shanzi stood beside her, munching on two biscuits. Li Yu dug through a roll of small change to pay five fen.

For some reason, the scene felt peaceful. Li Yu seemed... decent.

When Shanzi saw Lin Xiaoxiao, he ran over without hesitation and held out one of his biscuits. "Auntie, eat!"

Lin Xiaoxiao ruffled his hair. This kid was worth being nice to—he knew how to share. "No, thank honey, you eat it."

She turned to Li Yu. "Here buying biscuits too?"

Li Yu nodded shyly. "Shanzi wouldn't nap and kept crying for biscuits, so we came to buy a couple. We're heading back now."

Lin Xiaoxiao was surprised by Li Yu's patience. It was also the first time she'd seen her up close. Though she looked tired, her features were delicate. Most noticeable were her hands—slender and smooth, clearly unused to farm work.

Something didn't add up. Li Yu claimed to be a famine refugee from the mountains. She should have known hardship and manual labor. Why were there no calluses? Her fingers were even and fine, without the swollen joints of someone who'd worked the fields.

It made no sense.

Li Yu smiled faintly at Lin Xiaoxiao, took Shanzi's hand, and left. Shanzi turned and waved goodbye politely.

Lin Xiaoxiao watched them leave the shop before buying her biscuits, peanut cookies, and two cans of fruit. When she walked out, she found Zhou Xiaoling staring down the street with wide, curious eyes...